Sixty Seconds
by Glittermonkey
Summary: Hazardous driving takes a twist.


**Instamatics #72, 8/6/00 -or- "Sixty Seconds"** Guest Author: Angela glittermonkey@earthlink.net> 

Rating: PG. 

Warning: None. 

Disclaimer: Todd Haynes, Miramax, etc. 

Feedback: Gods, yes. Any acknowledgement at all is treasured. 

Thanks: To Alex, for beta and dreaming up this series in the   
first place. To a stop light, a truck, and its preoccupied   
driver, which I randomly passed on the way home from NorCal   
this weekend... And, err, to Sheila, probably the only one   
who'll truly appreciate the appropriateness of the title ;) 

****************** 

"Let's take the motorway." 

"I can't! I'm not allowed to. I only got my licence last week, remember? If my parents find out, they won't let me borrow the car ever again." 

"They won't find out. Besides, if we don't make it to the concert in time, there won't ever be a need for us to borrow the car again. We'll just have to commit suicide." 

"Don't be so melodramatic. We'll make it." 

"In this traffic? And considering that we'll have to wait ages in line once we get there? I really don't think so. C'mon, the entrance is right over there." 

Henry paused for a moment, weighing his choices. He knew Claire was right; she made it an annoying habit of hers to always be right. They'd gotten a late start, thanks to all the time it took for them to get dressed and properly glittered up once they'd gotten a safe distance from their houses. All the same, if something were to happen to the car and he had to call home for help... 

"Please?" 

"Oh, hell." 

"That's the spirit." 

"Make sure you're strapped in, I've never done this before." 

"I've heard that one before." Henry blinked and started to turn around, intending to ask Claire exactly she meant by that. She abruptly pointed ahead to the rapidly approaching slip road. "Remember to shift gears." 

Attention diverted, he turned back to the wheel. "I know that," he muttered huffily. "Exactly who's the driver here, anyway?" 

"Just trying to be helpfu-- oof!" Claire's head banged against her headrest as they lurched forward. 

"Sorry, the car's temperamental." 

"Thanks for the advance warning. I'll remember to pack a helmet next time." She looked over her shoulder. "The lane's clear, you can merge." 

The rust-orange Austin Allegro let out a loud shudder, then grudgingly gained speed as it entered the first lane. One of the back windows, already loose and obviously planning to make a bid for freedom, started rattling angrily in its frame. Henry clutched the wheel, white-knuckled but determined. After a few minutes of vigilant mirror-checking and nervous glances at the speedometer, he relaxed into the flow of the faster traffic. He was getting the hang of it. This was even, he dared to consider, easier than normal driving... no opposing traffic, no sharp bends, no roundabouts, no congestion... 

As if hearing his thoughts, a large black luxury car pulled in front of them, then proceeded to set a pace about ten miles below the speed limit. Henry scowled at it. 

"Just change lanes and overtake him." 

"That's okay, we're almost there anyway." 

A few minutes passed; the car ahead slowed down even more. 

"What the hell is going on up there?" 

"I'm not sure..." Claire squinted and pushed her face up against the windscreen. Her eyes widened slightly, and she sat back. "Oh, my." 

Henry hazarded another glance in her direction. "What?" 

"There's a person in the passenger seat." 

"No there isn't. I don't see anybody sitting there." 

"Look for yourself... the seatbelt is secured." 

"Maybe he's using it to hold something in place on the seat." 

"No, I briefly saw a distinctly human head bob into view. Before it... umm... submerged itself again." 

"Maybe the person is looking for something they dropped?" 

"Onto the driver's lap?" 

"You're kidding." 

"Cross my heart." 

As if on cue, the car ahead of them started weaving slowly back and forth as it drove. Henry stared. 

"You're kidding." 

"Don't make it too obvious that you're looking. Although," Claire added after a moment's thought, "I really don't think they're paying much attention to us at the moment." 

"You're kidding." 

"Stop saying that." 

Silence. 

"If you don't believe me, pull up next to them and see for yourself." 

Henry snorted. "I don't need to do that." 

"You know you want to." 

"I can't believe I'm doing this." 

"That's the spirit. You're clear." 

The Allegro put on another painful burst of speed, switched lanes, then levelled off alongside the vehicle in question. As inconspicuously as possible, they both peered to their left. 

And nearly plowed into the black car when its driver, so strangely familiar, glanced over in turn. He brushed a lock of blond hair from his face and grinned widely at them. 

Claire let out a squeak of mortification. Henry blinked in further disbelief. 

Then, as if alerted to their audience by the driver, another familiar face, sporting tousled bright blue hair and a bewildered look, popped into view. Upon seeing them, he yelped and dove back below the window. 

The driver, thoroughly amused, glanced from the two stunned teenagers to his passenger, then back again. Giving them a conspiratorial wink, he floored the gas pedal and was gone. 

-end- 

The rest of this fun, fun series by Alex can be found at: 

The Sublevels   
http://creed207.tripod.com/alex/index.html 


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